- The Indian political scenario can never have a dull moment since the leaders cutting across party affiliations always want to create enough sensation to attract attention. Wittingly or unwittingly, our political leaders make a point to score brownie points in the eyes of the assiduously built vote banks. And whenever an election of greater importance is on the horizon like the parliamentary polls in May 2024, the electoral pitch will be queered to a great extent. Unsurprisingly, the ruling dispensation at the Centre the NDA-led BJP, and the INDIA block of the opposition have begun going for each other’s jugular. Expect the communal and secular narrative to become even more vociferous in the days ahead with emotional issues thrown in for good measure.
PC: IANS
- As you are aware, the recent controversial statement by the DMK’s Udhayanidi Stalin on Sanatan Dharma has further exacerbated the growing chasm between the two equally formidable blocks. Needless to mention, it’s amply clear that the position on both sides has hardened, and that within opposition ranks, Stalin Junior’s remarks have come as an unwanted controversy for some. The BJP has latched onto the opportunity presented by the controversial remarks to go full throttle at the opposition to whip up a sensitive and emotional issue to the maximum. None of this is a surprise. A highly emotive force like religion never lends itself to a uniform interpretation. Note that a common thread running through major religions is the heterogeneity of interpretations.
- As experience suggests, in most democracies, religion sometimes gets entangled with another emotive force, politics. When that happens people on different sides of divides talk past each other. As is the case now. Arguably, barring Europe, which was home to the Enlightenment, a 17th-century movement that prioritized reason in forming worldviews, politics elsewhere still has an uneasy equation with religion. More so in democracies when political parties hunt for emotive issues to craft electoral blocs. Mind you, cause and effect never run in a straight line. In India, one can say that just a handful of overtly religious or social movements have had a lasting political impact. Let’s look at some of the most consequential events witnessed by the country.
PC: APN LIVE
- The Ayodhya movement is the most consequential one as the impact has had a large geographical footprint. We know how the saffron party emerged as a force to reckon with following the movement. The Mandal movement was also consequential but didn’t have as big an impact on areas outside the Hindi-speaking belt, which had a long history of reservations. Indeed, Tamil Nadu is witness to the Dravidian movement setting the stage for the political narration for several decades. Reactions outside TN to Udhayanidhi’s remarks on Sanatan Dharma show that the label triggers a diversity of emotions. Politics around labels is always high-pitched and the rhetoric is distinctively shallow. Expect more kerfuffle in the coming days on the vexatious issue.
